Retractable reel for a tiger tail

ABSTRACT

An illustrated view of an exemplary retractable rope reel device for protecting a tiger tail or jetter hose of a jet truck and trailer mounted unit. The retractable rope reel device keeps the tiger tail in place and stops the jetter hose from dragging or scraping along an edge of a pipe or manhole and causing replacement or leaking of the jetter hose. The retractable rope reel device is useful for protecting users working on the jet truck and trailer from being in the road when retrieving a rope from a side cargo area of the jet truck and trailer. Further, the retractable rope reel device is useful for saving time and energy of the users from retrieving and returning the rope from the jet truck and trailer thus being more efficient and safer in the use of time and costs. The device has a canister with a retractable reel and a trigger on an inside of the canister. The trigger allows retraction of a rope that is coupled to the reel. The rope is coupled to a tiger tail for keeping the tiger tail securely in a desired position. The device has a bracket for attaching the device to a bumper and then can be removed or kept for future use.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to tiger tails for sewer and storm systems. More particularly, it relates to a retractable reel for a tiger tail.

BACKGROUND

Sewage (or domestic wastewater or municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical and toxic constituents, and its bacteriologic status (which organisms it contains and in what quantities). It consists mostly of greywater (from sinks, tubs, showers, dishwashers, and clothes washers), blackwater (the water used to flush toilets, combined with the human waste that it flushes away); soaps and detergents; and toilet paper (less so in regions where bidets are widely used instead of paper).

Sewage usually travels from a building's plumbing either into a sewer, which will carry it elsewhere, or into an onsite sewage facility (of which there are many kinds). Whether it is combined with surface runoff in the sewer depends on the sewer design (sanitary sewer or combined sewer). The reality is that most wastewater produced globally remains untreated causing widespread water pollution.

A system of sewer pipes (sewers) collects sewage and takes it for treatment or disposal. The system of sewers is called sewage system. Where a main sewerage system has not been provided, sewage may be collected from homes by pipes into septic tanks or cesspits, where it may be treated or collected in vehicles and taken for treatment or disposal. Properly functioning septic tanks require emptying every 2-5 years depending on the load of the system.

Often times sewer systems get clogged or have back up from various sources. To remedy an undraining sewer and preventing backup of sewage the sewer, the sewer system is jetted using jet/sewer combination jet trucks and trailer mounted units. These jet/sewer combination trucks and trailer mounting units utilize a jetter hose to provide high pressure water or other liquid into the sewer or storm lines such that the blockage, clog or other issue is forced open and the sewer system is allowed to flow properly. The blockage can cause sewage to back up into the streets, homes, offices, etc. and a sanitary issue may occur.

When using the jetter hose, often called a tiger tail, the jetter hose can be damaged when jetting the sewer or storm lines. This can cause the jetter hose to fail over time, often in an accelerated manner. A device commonly referred to as a tiger tail will prevent this from happening. Currently, a rope is carried in the cargo area of the truck and trailer, the rope is unwound and tied to the tiger tail and to the truck to alleviate the rubbing or damage that may occur as the jetter hose drags or scraps along the an edge of the pipe and manhole. Getting the rope from a cargo area and returning it is time consuming and tedious, thus creating higher costs related to jetting of the sewer or storm systems.

In light of the forgoing, there is a need for a device which is efficient, safer more sanitary and available without additional activities by those working on the truck and trailer mounted units.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is an illustrated view of an exemplary retractable rope reel device device.

FIG. 1B is an illustrated view of the use of the retractable rope reel device shown in FIG. 1A

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The phrases “in one embodiment,” “in various embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” and the like are used repeatedly. Such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “having,” and “including” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise. Such terms do not generally signify a closed list.

“Above,” “adhesive,” “affixing,” “any,” “around,” “both,” “bottom,” “by,” “comprising,” “consistent,” “customized,” “enclosing,” “friction,” “in,” “labeled,” “lower,” “magnetic,” “marked,” “new,” “nominal,” “not,” “of,” “other,” “outside,” “outwardly,” “particular,” “permanently,” “preventing,” “raised,” “respectively,” “reversibly,” “round,” “square,” “substantial,” “supporting,” “surrounded,” “surrounding,” “threaded,” “to,” “top,” “using,” “wherein,” “with,” or other such descriptors herein are used in their normal yes-or-no sense, not as terms of degree, unless context dictates otherwise.

Reference is now made in detail to the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the drawings. While embodiments are described in connection with the drawings and related descriptions, there is no intent to limit the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents. In alternate embodiments, additional devices, or combinations of illustrated devices, may be added to, or combined, without limiting the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein.

Referring to FIG. 1A, an illustrated view of an exemplary retractable rope reel device 100 for connecting to a tiger tail to protect the jetter hose of a jet/sewer combination jet truck and trailer mounted unit. The retractable rope reel device 100 connects to the tiger tail that prevent the jet hose from rubbing on an edge of a pipe or manhole causing damage to the jet hose. The retractable rope reel device 100 is useful for protecting users working on the jet/sewer combination truck and trailer from being in the road when retrieving a rope from a side panel of the jet truck and trailer units from being in the road when retrieving the rope from the side cargo area of the jet truck and trailer. Further, the retractable rope reel device 100 is useful for saving time and energy of the users from retrieving and returning the rope for the jet/sewer combination truck and trailer units, thus being more efficient in the use of time and costs.

The retractable rope reel device 100 is preferably ten and one-half (10.5) inches in length, however other lengths are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, eight (8) inches, eleven and one-fourth (11.25) inches, etc. The retractable rope reel device 100 is preferably three and one-half (3.5) inches in width, however other widths are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, three (3) inches, four and one-fourth (4.25) inches, etc. The retractable rope reel device 100 is preferably nine (9) inches in height, however other heights are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, eight (8) inches, ten (10) inches, etc. The retractable rope reel device 100 is preferably a significantly round shape, however other shapes are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, square, rectangular, hexagonal, etc.

The retractable rope reel device 100 has a canister 101, a reel 102 and a rope 103. The canister 101 is preferably made of a hard-plastic material, however other materials are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, steel, aluminum, etc. The reel 102 is preferably made of a metal material, such as steel, aluminum, etc., however other materials are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, hard-plastic, poly-vinyl chloride (PVC), etc. The rope 103 is preferably made of a polypropylene material, however other materials are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, nylon, hemp, etc. The rope 103 is preferably a diamond braided design.

The canister 101 of the retractable rope reel device 100 has an outside 104 and an interior 105. The outside 104 of the canister 101 preferably has an opening 106 that allows for an entry/exit access for the rope 103. The a middle 116 of the canister 101 has a snap trigger 107. The snap trigger 107 is useful for securing the rope 103 of the retractable rope reel device 100 at a desired length.

The rope 103 is movably coupled to the reel 102 of the retractable rope reel device 100. The reel 102 is an EZ coil reel, however other types of reels are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, spring-driven reel, hand crank reel, etc. The reel 102 allows for the rope 103 to be extracted easily. When the snap trigger 107 is released, the reel 102 automatically retracts the rope 103 onto the reel 102 for storage and later use. At a second end 113 of the rope 103 is a stopper 114. The stopper 114 is preferably a four (4) inch snap trigger clasp, however other types of clasps are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, . The rope 103 preferably having a length being twenty-five (25) feet, however other lengths are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, twenty (20) feet, fifty (50) feet, etc.

The retractable rope reel device 100 further has a bracket 108. The bracket 108 is preferably made of a galvanized metal material, such as aluminum, steel, etc., however other materials are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, poly-vinyl (PVC), hard-plastic, etc. A first side 110 of the bracket 108 of the retractable rope reel device 100 is coupled to the outside 104 of the canister 101 by a first coupling device 109.

The first coupling device 109 is preferably a screw device, however other coupling devices are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, self-threading bolt, construction glue, single-mold construction, etc. The bracket 108 is preferably an angle strut bracket, however other types of brackets are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, u-bracket, E-seam clamp, etc. A second side 111 of the bracket 108 is securely coupled to a bumper or other surface of a vehicle by a third coupling device 115 as will be shown in FIG. 1B. The third coupling device 114 is preferably a screw device, however other coupling devices are hereby contemplated, including, but not limited to, self-threading bolt, construction glue, single-mold construction, etc.

Moving now to FIG. 1B, the second side 111 of the bracket 108 of the retractable rope reel device 100 is coupled to a bumper 201 of a vehicle 200. The vehicle 200 is preferably a jet/sewer combination truck and trailer mounted units. The first end 110 of the bracket 108 of the retractable rope reel device 100 is securely and removably coupled from the canister 101 of the retractable rope reel device 100.

The rope 103 of the retractable rope reel device 100 has been extracted from the canister 101 of the retractable rope reel device 100. The stopper 114 of the rope 103 of the retractable rope reel device 100 is coupled to a tiger tail 202 of the vehicle 200. The tiger tail 202 has been inserted into a manhole 203 and the rope 103 holds the tiger tail 202 in place when jetting out a sanitary, sewer or storm system.

In the numbered clauses below, specific combinations of aspects and embodiments are articulated in a shorthand form such that (1) according to respective embodiments, for each instance in which a “component” or other such identifiers appear to be introduced (with “a” or “an,” e.g.) more than once in a given chain of clauses, such designations may either identify the same entity or distinct entities; and (2) what might be called “dependent” clauses below may or may not incorporate, in respective embodiments, the features of “independent” clauses to which they refer or other features described above.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing specific exemplary processes and/or devices and/or technologies are representative of more general processes and/or devices and/or technologies taught elsewhere herein, such as in the claims filed herewith and/or elsewhere in the present application.

The features described with respect to one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments or combined with or interchanged with the features of other embodiments, as appropriate, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A retractable rope reel device for keeping a tiger tail in a desired position when jetting, the device comprising: a canister, the canister having an interior and an outside; a reel, the reel coupled to the interior of the canister; a snap trigger coupled to a center of the canister; a rope, the rope coupled to the reel, wherein the rope being threaded through the opening in the outside of the canister, and wherein the rope having a stopper, wherein the stopper being coupled to the tiger tail being securely positioned, and wherein the rope being secured in a desired position by the trigger; and a bracket, the bracket being coupled to a bumper of a vehicle, and wherein the bracket being securely coupled to the outside of the canister.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the device having a length being ten and one-half (10.5) inches.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the device having a width being three and one-half (3.5) inches.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the device having a height being nine (9) inches.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the canister being made of a hard-plastic material.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the reel being made of a metal material.
 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the metal material being steel.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein stopper being four (4) inch snap trigger clasp.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein the bracket being coupled to the canister by a first coupling device.
 10. The device of claim 9, wherein the first coupling device being a screw.
 11. The device of claim 1, wherein the device being substantially a round shape.
 12. The device of claim 1, wherein the rope having a length being twenty-five (25) feet.
 13. The device of claim 1, wherein the reel being an EZ coil reel.
 14. The device of claim 1, wherein the bracket being coupled to the bumper by a third coupling device.
 15. The device of claim 16, wherein the third coupling device being a bolt.
 16. The device of claim 1, where in the vehicle being a jet/sewer combination truck and trailer mounted units. 